MARTEL: Is your faith genuine? Examine yourself

The New Year, and particularly the month of January, is usually the time of year many people take stock of their physical appearance and make a commitment to lose weight, or change their hair, or do something to improve their lives. It’s a new beginning! And we want to give it our best so that we’ll be encouraged and proud of ourselves again.

“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.”

— 2 Corinthians 13:5

The New Year, and particularly the month of January, is usually the time of year many people take stock of their physical appearance and make a commitment to lose weight, or change their hair, or do something to improve their lives. It’s a new beginning! And we want to give it our best so that we’ll be encouraged and proud of ourselves again.

Outward appearance and success in this world is fleeting and can only boost our morale to a certain degree; it lacks the security and confidence that can only come from being rightly related to God — the only one who does hold everything in His power. Walking with the Lord won’t always provide the physical treasures we desire, but it gives us an assurance that goes much deeper and minimizes our dependency on the fleeting pleasures we come to rely on.

So, I propose before you forge ahead with all urgency to lose 20 pounds, first look inside and see if you know your creator as you should. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 29, verses 13 and 14, God tells us it is the most important thing to be concerned about: “The Lord says, ‘These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.’”

“Hypocrites” is how God describes us when we “pretend” to care about what He thinks of us, because that is what hypocrites do: pretend. Check your heart — are you pretending to know God; are you outwardly saying you believe and trust in Him but inwardly not even caring what He thinks of your life? When was the last time you asked Him to guide you into holiness?

Don’t be a victim of triviality, which is the great disease of our day. Sacrificing the truly important (all that is eternal) for the things that are more reachable but less valuable (all that is temporal or of this world). If our goals only reach as far as what we can attain in this world then we will not work toward drawing nearer to God. Building a healthier, stronger relationship with our Lord won’t happen when we are busy building our financial portfolio, or toning our body; we have to seek Him on purpose, we have to make our goal and our desire to cultivate a personal, intimate relationship with Him.

Page 2 of 2 - It takes a lot more determination to be a true follower of Christ, but the rewards are also infinitely greater. Settling for the trivial pursuits of this world will not make anyone useful to the Lord. Purposely seek the Lord and as He guides you your vision for what is important and worthy will become clearer.

Even in making “resolutions,” as we’ve come to call them, there is a part of us way down deep that has already surrendered to the inevitability of falling short of our goal. It’s just easier to give into the draw of acceptable, calculated compromise than to stand determined to reach the goal. But in fighting the battle for your soul’s health, God will give you all the support and motivation you need through His word and fellow believers, to “press toward the mark of the high calling in Jesus Christ,” as the Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Philippians, chapter 3, verse 14.

Determine to follow the Lord with all your strength; lean on Him to guide you; seek out a church family, like Grace Gospel Church, to grow with, and you can’t fail. You have the Victor on your side, giving everything to help you succeed.